[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 97 (Monday, July 24, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7485-S7487]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              MINIMUM WAGE

  Mr. KENNEDY. Madam President, we have recently witnessed another 
example of the indifference of Members of Congress to the needs of 
hard-working, low-wage American workers. While our minimum wage bill 
still languishes, Members of Congress are raising their own pay yet 
again. Congress has cut the taxes of the wealthiest Americans, but the 
Republican leadership still insists on doing nothing for those at the 
bottom of the economic ladder. It is an outrage that Congress would 
raise its own pay but not the minimum wage.
  Over the past decade, in spite of the recent prosperity, the average 
inflation-adjusted income of the poorest fifth of Americans rose by 
only 1 percent, while the average inflation adjusted-income of the 
richest 5 percent rose by 27 percent.
  The Republican Congress just passed an estate tax repeal that 
provides 100 percent of its benefits to the wealthiest 5 percent of 
Americans and 91 percent

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of its benefits to the wealthiest 1 percent. The Republican marriage 
tax penalty bill passed last week is also heavily tilted to benefit 
only the wealthy. Members of this Republican Congress are quick to find 
time to increase their own salaries and cut taxes for the wealthiest 
Americans, but they cannot find the time to pass an increase in the 
minimum wage to benefit those hard-working, low-wage Americans.
  These low-income working families deserve a raise. Their pay has been 
frozen for 3 years, and our Democratic proposal will increase the 
minimum wage by 50 cents this year and another 50 cents next year. The 
Republican leadership is doing all it can to prevent this fair 
increase, but this issue will not go away, and we will continue to 
offer our minimum wage amendment to bills on the floor again and again 
at every opportunity until we pass it and send it to the President for 
his signature.
  In recent months, a bipartisan House voted by a solid majority to 
increase the minimum wage by $1 over 2 years, and many of our Senate 
colleagues have also supported an increase: 50 cents now and 50 cents a 
year from now.
  The American people agree that the minimum wage should be increased. 
The time is now to give America's hard-working families the raise they 
so desperately need and deserve. It is unconscionable for the 
Republican leadership to vote themselves a pay raise yet again, cut 
taxes for the wealthiest Americans, and then deny workers at the bottom 
of the economic ladder a fair pay increase. Our Democratic proposal 
offers workers the minimum wage raise they need and deserve: No tricks, 
no poison pills, no tax breaks for the wealthy, and we have bipartisan 
support for this increase.
  The issue is a priority. The Senate should act on a fair minimum wage 
bill, and we should act as soon as possible. It is wrong for the Senate 
to continue to block this long overdue act of simple justice for 
working families.
  This chart shows the real value of the minimum wage. It is from 1968 
up to the year 2001. If we were to take the real value and use constant 
dollars, the minimum wage would be $7.66, if we were to have the same 
purchasing power as we had in 1968.
  We have seen the minimum wage decline over these years, particularly 
in recent years. Without an increase, it will be valued at $4.90. If we 
were to have the increase of 50 cents and 50 cents, the purchasing 
power would only be $5.85, which is still below what it was for over 12 
years. That is all we are asking: Let's bring it up by 50 cents this 
year and 50 cents next year. Even though that would be $6.15, it 
represents $5.85 of purchasing power in constant dollars.
  What we are seeing is that it is almost $2 lower than what the 
minimum wage was in 1968. This is against the situation, if one looks 
over this particular chart, that working families are living in 
poverty. If one looks at what has happened, again in constant dollars, 
of where the minimum wage has been going in recent years in adjusted 
inflation dollars, then one sees where the poverty line has been going 
in recent years.

  We are finding out now that since 1988, minimum wage workers are 
working, in many instances, longer, harder, more jobs, and are sinking 
deeper and deeper into poverty.
  This is against the background of the last 10 days where we gave over 
$1.5 trillion--a huge amount in estate taxes, the majority of which 
goes to the highest income individuals, and $300 billion to the 
wealthiest individuals in marriage tax penalty relief. Then last week, 
the House of Representatives voted themselves a $3,800 pay increase. 
That represents what a minimum wage worker would make in 2 years. They 
voted themselves that in 1 year.
  This is where we have seen America's poorest families are getting 
poorer. The bottom fifth of the families are right at the edge where 
they have been from 1979 to 1999, 20 years, working harder, working 
longer, and their benefit from the economic expansion is virtually 
nonexistent. The middle fifth has gone up 5 percent, and the top fifth 
of families has gone up 30 percent.
  These are the men and women who are the backbone of the whole 
economic expansion. Yet they are the ones who are experiencing almost 
crumbs in advancing their quality of life and their lifestyle.
  Last week, we saw all this happening in the House of Representatives. 
The House of Representatives increased their pay by $3,800 a year. As I 
mentioned, if our minimum wage amendment is passed, it works out to be 
less than $2000.
  Even if we give the increase in the minimum wage, minimum wage 
workers in 2 years will make half of what the pay increase will be for 
Members of Congress.
  That is not bad enough, but Congressman DeLay was asked by a 
columnist, Mark Shields:

       Can you and Dick Armey and others who voted for that pay 
     raise or cost-of-living increase defend voting against an 
     increase in the minimum wage?

  Mr. DeLay said:

       Well, Mark, we don't work for minimum wage. . . .

  How dismissive can one be? Evidently, Members of Congress, their 
children, and their lives are more important than workers who are 
working hard as children's aides in the Head Start Program, or working 
in nursing homes taking care of seniors.
  These are men and women who have a great sense of dignity and pride 
in their work, working, in many instances, two or three jobs.
  Mr. DeLay says:

       [W]e don't work for minimum wage. Members of Congress 
     represent 250 million people. . . .''

  How dismissive: We are more important.
  I defy that. These are men and women who are working, and working 
hard, and who have a sense of dignity and a sense of pride in the work 
they do. They are teachers' aides. They are children's aides, working 
in child care programs. They work in nursing homes. They work in the 
buildings across this country in order to make the buildings clean for 
American industry.
  This is basically a women's issue because the great majority of 
minimum wage workers are women. It is a children's issue because 
millions of the women who are working at the minimum wage have 
children, and their lives are all being affected by this. It is a civil 
rights issue because great numbers of the minimum wage workers are men 
and women of color. And most profoundly, it is a fairness issue, where 
we hear so many speeches here in the Senate saying: We honor work. We 
want Americans who want to work.
  Here are men and women, who are working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks of 
the year, trying to make ends meet, trying to bring up children, trying 
to pay for rent because they don't have the income in order to purchase 
a house, trying to put food on the table, and trying to spend some time 
with their families.
  It is an interesting fact, American workers now spend 22 hours less 
per week with their children. Why? Because they have to work at more 
jobs, and to work longer at their jobs. So it is a family issue.
  Of all the times we listen to statements about family values and 
fairness in our society, we are crying crocodile tears, evidently, 
because we heard last week that people who have estates over $100 
million should not be taxed twice. Even if you scored $100 million, we 
are still going to provide more tax breaks. We refuse to even permit a 
vote on an increase in the minimum wage here in the Senate, while we 
are going out and increasing our own salary, and doing it in a 
contemptuous way to these men and women. Shame on this body.
  We are going to bring this up. We have heard a lot about: This is not 
relevant. Is it going to be fair to bring this up? We are going to be 
told that we do not set the agenda in the Senate.
  I can just tell you, there are men and women who have struggled, and 
struggled mightily, and are struggling today. They deserve the 
increase. These arguments about inflation are out the window. Every 
economic indicator has demonstrated that the last two increases have 
had no impact in any way in terms of inflation. The idea that we are 
going to have lost jobs is absolutely preposterous. Every economic 
study has indicated the same. We have responded to those arguments.
  This is a fairness issue. It is a decency issue. It is about our 
fellow citizens. It is about work. It is about families. It is about 
children. It is about

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women. It is about fairness in civil rights. We are going to continue 
to pursue this item. We are going to pursue it this week and the 4 
weeks when we return in September. We are going to continue to pursue 
it until we have justice for these workers.
  Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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